Enter the newsroom.
Episode #51: “More With Less”
“The bigger the lie, the more they believe.” – Bunk
The Stanfield Organization continues to operate despite a year of surveillance by the Major Crimes Unit. Education budget deficits and ambitions to become Governor leave Mayor Carcetti forced to make funding cuts. His broken promises to the police department destroy morale and cause the closure of the Major Crimes Unit. Detective Jimmy McNulty is sent back to homicide and returns to his old habits of drinking and infidelity. Similar cutbacks in the Baltimore Sun newsroom make it increasingly difficult for city desk editor Gus Haynes to do his job but he is still able to break a major story linking city council president Nerese Campbell and drug dealer Fat-Face Rick. Bubbles is recovering from his heroin addiction but is struggling to come to terms with his role in Sherrod’s death. Michael Lee continues to work as a Stanfield enforcer and provides a home for his younger brother and friend Duquan “Dukie” Weems.
New Characters
Gus Haynes
Scott Templeton
Alma Gutierrez
James Whiting
Thomas Klebanow
Steven Luxenberg
Tim Phelps
Jay Spry
Roger Twigg
Mike Fletcher
Rebecca Corbett
Detective Christeson
Episode #52: “Unconfirmed Reports”
“This ain’t Aruba, bitch.” – Bunk
Reporter Scott Templeton submits an unverifiable story about a boy attending the opening day of the Baltimore Orioles baseball season. Haynes is dubious but is forced to run the story by his senior editors. The withdrawal of the police investigation emboldens Marlo Stanfield and he orders several murders and tries to contact international drug trafficking organization “The Greeks”. Detective Lester Freamon continues to observe Stanfield even though he has been assigned to the Clay Davis corruption case. Bubbles takes a job at a soup kitchen. McNulty becomes increasingly frustrated in the underfunded homicide unit and takes the drastic step of faking a homicide with the intention of drawing funds to the department by creating the illusion of a serial killer.
Deceased:
June Bug
I’m a little concerned about the direction this season seems to be taking right off the bat. The news setting, while interesting, just doesn’t have the resonance that the others have had. The most direct analogue is the stevedores union, as the two units seem to have similar camaraderie and represent institutions trapped in dying industries, but the plight of the white-collar newsman just doesn’t have the same emotional impact as that of the blue-collar dockworker. Part of the problem is that the internal politics of the news industry just aren’t anything that we haven’t seen before – in fact, Simon and Burns go to great lengths to draw parallels between the Sun and the police department. But the other issue – and this is just my personal opinion – is that newspapers and other forms of hard print media just aren’t worth much these days. With the rise of the online press and newspaper sales plummeting nationwide, and without the universality or the high-stakes that were present in season two, the struggles of a print paper seem so petty. I understand that it’s a subject near and dear to Simon’s heart, and I’m sure that the drama will be compelling, but I would be stunned if this season approached the same emotional level that seasons two and four did.
That said, there were some developments that I found interesting in these episodes. First, I was shocked and pleased to see Sergei return – more evidence of the coming Greek renaissance! His comments about the time he spent in Russian prison were fantastic, and coupled with what we saw in season two, really reinforces the notion that American prisons aren’t the overly oppressive system of punishment that we imagine them to be. Compared to Russian prisons, they’re a vacation!
And seeing Avon again was comforting. I really enjoyed how he approached Marlo during their interaction – the mutual respect between the two was great, and I liked how Avon has adapted to prison life. When we saw him in seasons two and three, he was always just waiting to get out and get back in the game. Now he seems content where he is, as though not having the burden of being on the street anymore has let him loosen up and enjoy prison.
Lastly, I’m glad to see Norman slowly becoming disenchanted with Carcetti’s tenure as mayor. The first thing we learned about Carcetti was that he liked to watch himself have sex, and after a season of being on the campaign, I think we lost sight of how plainly unlikeable he really is. He’s ambitious above all else, and Norman simply doesn’t have time for that. Norman has a genuine desire to do good for the city. Carcetti cares primarily about his own career, and if he can help the city along the way, then that’s fine too. I’m looking forward to seeing the rift grow.
“
Like Stefan I feel somewhat uneasy about the direction of the season thus far. I miss the kids of season four and am tired of watching McNulty be drunk and disgusting. I love Bubs and the main editor at the newsroom seems to have promise as a character but I really am not liking McNulty and disliking the main character of a season really kills it for me.
I do like the theme of freedom of speech the season has adopted thus far- with Junebug, Michael and the newspaper. Michael seems taken aback that simply talkin shit could get someone killed and is then warned to stop talking. This lack of free speech is paralleled in the newsroom where it is clear that what the boss wants to hear is what is going to be published. He doesn’t want to hear about racial segregation at the universities and doesn’t seem to know anything about journalism or care. He just wants something that reads well and doesn’t confuse people too much. In the newsroom we get another shot at career climbers with the highly unlikeable white reporter that undoubtedly made up the kid in the wheelchair.
Just to bring it all back to real politics in Baltimore. The city council president in the show seems very clearly based off Sheila Dixon- the current mayor of Baltimore who is under indictment for corruption and was city council president until Martin O’Malley gave her the job of mayor when he became governor. The Republican FBI attorney guy that Carcetti pisses off also parallels real life State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh- the Republican who is bringing the charges against Dixon. Dixon argues that his motivations are partisan and personal, as he tried to investigate her corruption before she became mayor.
I actually see a lot of potential in the newsroom aspect of this season. I agree that so far there hasn’t been any particularly compelling emotional drama to rival that of past seasons, and maybe there won’t be, but looking at the media seems like a really appropriate way to tie together a lot of thematic elements that the show has addressed. We’ve seen many of Baltimore’s “issues” up close and personal, getting to know and love drug players, cops, hopers, etc. and we’ve (at least I have) wondered with frustration why nothing can really change—a point that is hammered home as we see the reality of the “new day in Baltimore” that Carcetti promised. It’s important to acknowledge the media’s role in preserving the institutional status quo. Gus Jordan is clearly our protagonist in the newsroom, bucking the bosses with hopes of publishing real, important stories that ask the tough questions of our political leaders. Meanwhile, the higher-ups would rather tout Scott’s fluff, which is probably cooked bullshit. This tells us a lot about why things are the way they are by illuminating the process by which the object of public attention is selected.
The opening scene of season 5 is just great. The dialog is a little heavy-handed in its exhibition of the season’s themes with respect to the media and what McNulty is cooking up (“Americans are stupid people by and large, we pretty much believe what we are told,” “The bigger the lie, the more they believe”), but it is so perfectly integrated into the process of coaxing out a confession that it doesn’t feel overdone. The copy machine lie detector bit is straight out of David Simon’s book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, a stunt that real Baltimore detectives enjoyed. It is part of a really interesting section that gives some background context about interrogation. Simon writes that the law enforcement community “once regarded the 1966 Miranda decision as a death blow to criminal investigation” (207), since no information can be extracted from someone who actually takes advantage of his or her right to silence. Yet the insertion of various acknowledgements of suspect rights has simply become part of the process, intentionally glossed over and framed in particular ways in a detective’s pursuit of a confession. Simon also notes that, “if a suspect calls a lawyer and continues to answer questions until the lawyer arrives, his rights have not been violated” (212), a point that is crucial to several great moments in The Wire, including the season 1 scene where Bunk and McNulty spin a tale about William Gant’s children for D’Angelo. Presumably the reticent young suspect in this season’s opening is waiting for a lawyer while Bunk undermines his faith in his partner-in-crime. Had the boy simply kept his mouth shut he might have gotten away with murder, but the detectives are practiced in the deceptive art of getting under a suspects skin, convincing him to surrender his rights and implicate himself. This idea that most people don’t really know or understand their rights seems related to this season’s developing theme about the media reinforcing the institutional status quo, and reminds me of a line from The Departed – “treat ‘em like mushrooms: feed ‘em shit and keep ‘em in the dark.”
These two episodes also made me think of Homicide for its treatment of the “redball.” As Simon follows various detectives throughout a year of, the different categories of murders are clearly delineated in ways that we’ve seen throughout The Wire. In the first season, William Gant’s death prompts some extra fuss because he’s a “working man,” what the detectives in the book might alternately refer to as a “real victim,” as opposed to just another body, as a drug killing might be classified. The distinction between “murder” and “killing” gets some consideration, as well, with the latter being less meaningful in the eyes of a cop. By faking the work of a serial killer targeting homeless people, McNulty is trying to manufacture a “red ball”—the kind of high-profile case that prompts extensive collaboration between detectives and departments, and typically involves a lot of overtime. One of the most persistent threads in Homicide is about an eight-month investigation into the death of an eleven-year-old girl who was raped, murdered, and dumped in a yard behind a row house. This typifies a red ball in the utter innocence/helplessness of the victim and evil perversity of the perpetrator. McNulty has a plan…
I actually did not like the reappearance of Avon. It seemed to be a superfluity present only for comic relief. I was particularly disappointed in that our final vision of Avon, flashing a West Side gang sign as the audience laughs. For me, it was a gross caricature of a character whom I dearly loved. I did appreciate the newfound respect between Barksdales and Stanfields and and the West-side-is-thicker-than-water mentality from old school Avon (it’s the inexorable street rivalries and allegiances that made Avon so unique anyway). But in the end, the Avon sighting (much, much, much hyped and anticipated by diligent Wire watcher, bloggers, and gossippers) was unsatisfying. It all amounted to a mere bone thrown to loyal Wire fans. Thanks, I guess. But beyond the “Holy shit! Avon’s back!” factor, I thought it was pointless. Also: send $$$ to my sister? Are Brianna and Avon still operating like a family? Would she even accept this money? It all just made me nostalgic for the real Avon and for the storyline of his whole dynasty.
Didn’t really mean only for comic relief, but it certainly was silly.
I, too, am extremely disappointed in watching the slow moral descent of Carcetti as mayor, and completely understand Norman’s disgust with him. As a result of Carcetti’s leadership transformation since assuming office, my interest in the real-life parallel between the fictional Tommy Carcetti and the actual ex-Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O’Malley, has grown strongly. Thus, with my interest piqued, I decided to explore O’Malley in greater detail. I fully encourage all of you to take a look at O’Malley’s Wikipedia entry, but here are some highlighted parallels between him and Carcetti (other than the obvious, young, white, catholic, Councilman to Mayor against-the-odds transition, that we have discussed):
• “During the first Mayoral campaign, O’Malley’s made improving public safety a priority. By the end of his second term, Baltimore experienced “nearly a 40% reduction in violent crime, which [led] the nation”.[9] In 2006, Baltimore was ranked the twelfth most dangerous city in the United States; in 2005 it was ranked the sixth most dangerous city.[10]”
• “In 2005, Baltimore’s reported homicide rate was five times that of New York City, which had one of the lowest crime rates of America’s largest cities.[11] According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Unified Crime Reports for 2000 and 2003, violent crimes (homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) in Baltimore declined from 16,003 in 2000 (O’Malley’s first year in office) to 13,789 in 2003. In terms of homicides, there were 261 in 2000; 256 in 2001; 253 in 2002; and 270 in 2003.[12] More recently, there were 276 homicides in 2004 and 269 in 2005.”
o At least they’re under 300…
• “Some[who?] have questioned the crime statistics released by the O’Malley administration since they differ with official FBI crime reports. They claim that crime in Baltimore is seriously underreported. The Washington Post, however, characterizes these accusations as coming from “O’Malley’s political foes – Democrat and Republican alike” and says that “[t]o date, no evidence has surfaced of a systemic manipulation of crime statistics.”
o Juking the stats – something we have seen quite a lot of in “The Wire”
• “O’Malley lauds many of his achievements in the Baltimore City Public School System, stating that his administration has greatly improved schools and that they “are on the mend for the first time in decades.” As one of his five most prominent achievements, O’Malley claims that his administration “improved student test scores across the board” while noting that much work remains.”
o So far, Carcetti has the 3rd Grade scores up!